Joan Mir has a fight on his hands to secure the MotoGP championship at the Valencia Grand Prix this weekend after disappointing in qualifying.
The Spaniard can clinch the title with a podium finish but could only qualify 12th at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, which is hosting a second successive race after staging the European Grand Prix.
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Mir will also prevail by finishing as low as seventh if Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins or Maverick Vinales do not emerge victorious in the race.
That sets the stage for a fascinating main event as a dramatic season nears its conclusion.
WHAT HAPPENED IN QUALIFYING
Franco Morbidelli came out on top after a frantic finish to the second qualifying session in which light rain gave the riders an extra challenge.
His time of one minute and 30.191 seconds proved enough for top spot on the grid, the Italian edging out Jack Miller (1:30.287) for his second pole of the season.
Takaaki Nakagami claimed the final spot on the front row, with Mir left needing to work his way through the field.
Alex Marquez was fortunate to walk away after a crash that saw the Repsol Honda rider flip through the air and land awkwardly on the tarmac.
THE STARTING GRID
1. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha), 2. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), 3. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda)
4. Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), 5. Pol Espargaro (Suzuki Ecstar), 6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha)
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), 8. Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), 9. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), 11. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha), 12. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar)
13. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), 14. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), 15. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
16. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha), 17. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), 18. Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda)
19. Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing), 20. Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda), 21. Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia)
VALENCIA GRAND PRIX TALKING POINTS
All eyes will be on the fourth row of the grid as Mir plots a potentially decisive charge through the pack.
Morbidelli has not given up hope of claiming the title himself despite being 45 points behind Mir.
A clean getaway will therefore be critical as he seeks to secure a third race win of a thrilling campaign.
The race is the penultimate one for LCR Honda Cal Crutchlow before he becomes a test rider for Yamaha in 2021.
Adding to his six points finishes this season before bowing out from racing is sure to be the priority for the Briton.
“We still need to aim for the title” - @FrankyMorbido12
— MotoGP (@MotoGP) November 14, 2020
While Franky is feeling good on the bike, he's going for all the points he can get, even if the Championship odds are stacked against him! #ValenciaGP pic.twitter.com/Hwmbb7p5SU
WHAT THE RIDERS SAID
Franco Morbidelli (pole): "For sure, we still need to aim for the title even if the chances are really small. We put ourselves in the best position in order to fight for that. I always aim for the maximum because I'm in a moment where I'm in good shape and I feel great with the bike so I can aim for the maximum but to get it is a different story."
Jack Miller (2nd): "I rode with a hard front last weekend, sort of a safer kind of option. Knowing what we know now with the medium front I feel quite confident with my tyre selection for tomorrow. The other boys will be really fast, hopefully we'll be able to get away off the line nice and cleanly, run our own race, run our own pace and try to manage the rear tyre to the end."
Takaaki Nakagami (3rd): "Today I didn't expect these kind of tricky conditions because the weather forecast was quite okay, no rain forecast, after FP4 suddenly we can see some drop off [with] the rain and we never know of the condition of the Q2. I was a bit worried about how it goes, in the end we made quite a good lap time with these kind of tricky conditions so I'm quite happy to finish again front row, which is good for tomorrow's race so I'm happy again P3. Great result for us."
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) – 162
2. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) – 125
3. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) – 125
4. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) – 121
5. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) – 117
Teams
1. Suzuki Ecstar – 287
2. Petronas Yamaha – 205
3. Ducati – 194
4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 182
5. Monster Energy Yamaha – 159
